Candidates & Clients: Reasons To Treat Them (Almost) The Same

A few days ago, I bought a valentine's gift for my girlfriend online. I paid and after 30 seconds I realized that I was wrong about the product. I wrote to the supplier to explain my situation. I did not expect to receive a reply until the next day with a refusal, but what I received was an email after 3 hours from a sympathetic, friendly and decisive guy who had already managed my claim and had already reimbursed me for the money. Joy and desire to buy there again, it was what I felt.

Why wouldn't you do the same with your candidates? In the end, your candidates are also your customers. And what happens when a customer has a bad experience? Apart from being angry, you lose him and, perhaps, all the friends to whom he has told his experience. Dear recruiters: yes, the candidates, like the clients, tell their friends and families (and even their followers) the good experiences and, above all, the bad ones.

63% of candidates explain their negative experiences in the selection processes to their environment.

They not only explain what happened to them, but they change their behavior towards your brand. Keep reading because, next, we will explain what the experience of the consumer and the candidate have in common and what influences you.

1. The consumer and the candidate look for similar information

We have already made several comparisons at the beginning of the post between consumers and the candidate. Even so, it is a reality that always prioritizes the consumer experience, because it is the most obvious when it comes to getting benefits, isn't it? If not, let our marketing partners tell us. But we do not give up, and here we continue to give maximum importance to the candidate experience, because, in the end, everyone seeks to know the same when they come into contact with the brand. Or almost the same. Look at this table and find out.

It is very necessary to explain at which stage of the process you are and what the next steps will be. In this table, we can see some clear comparisons. Seeing it that way, it seems obvious, right? But the most important thing for the candidates is communication throughout the selection process. No one would stop answering a client because he would lose him. Why are we not in constant contact with the candidates of our processes, too?

2. Losing a candidate is losing a consumer

It is proven that 53% of the candidates who sign up for your offer, is because they have had some type of contact with your company, mostly as buyers of the product. They have a concrete image about you, they trust you, and they have expectations. What happens if these expectations are not fulfilled? The image worsens, and trust is broken.

46% of candidates who had negative experiences claim to have ceased to be clients of the company.

I will give you an example:

Imagine you are a retail company. You have 2,000 dissatisfied candidates. Each one spent, on average, THB40 a month on your products. 6% of these candidates decide not to buy from your store again. That is, you lose THB120 customers. You lose THB4,800 per month, and per year, you will have lost THB57,600.

27% of candidates with bad experiences will recommend to other people not to sign up for your offers.

You lose much more than money. You lose people who, with better attention, could have been ambassadors or prescribers of your brand. You lose certain candidates forever: 80% of job seekers would not sign up for your offers again if they had a bad experience. You can also lose other potential candidates with talent and lose confidence in the brand.

As you can see, it is key to improve your candidate experience, because that will make talent fall in love and, even if he does not end up working in your company, you will have a good image of it. He will recommend his friends to register for your offers. Where can you start?

Create a job page. Explain your values, present your team, and allow candidates to register through a generic offer if necessary, as an alternative.

Work your communication with the candidates. We have already said that it is a crucial part. Communicate with them consistantly, give them feedback, and ask what they thought of the process.

38% of candidates do not receive any information after registering for an offer.

Customize the interviews and call them whatever the decision!

Only 8% receive a call that they do not continue.

These are the first steps, but remember that technology is also a great ally to create a candidate experience. Put yourself in the shoes of the candidate you once were (and will surely be again), imagine what your ideal selection process would be like and start working on it. Creativity will also help you a lot.

Fischer & Partners is an executive recruitment firm and talent solutions company. We help transform the workplace and unleash the full potential of organizations and individuals. Our expert team can provide you with unique insights and services that help you maximize your success. Operating in Thailand and Indonesia, we deliver a range of recruitment, talent management, and recruitment outsourcing solutions to get you and your business where you want to be.